1. Academic Validation
  2. Proteome Landscapes Decode Organelle Vulnerabilities in cortical and dopaminergic-like induced neurons Across Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Proteome Landscapes Decode Organelle Vulnerabilities in cortical and dopaminergic-like induced neurons Across Lysosomal Storage Disorders

  • bioRxiv. 2025 Oct 8:2025.10.08.681047. doi: 10.1101/2025.10.08.681047.
Felix Kraus 1 Yuchen He 1 Yizhi Jiang 1 2 Delong Li 2 3 Yohannes A Ambaw 4 Federico M Gasparoli 1 Joao A Paulo 1 Tobias C Walther 4 5 Robert V Farese Jr 4 Steven P Gygi 1 Florian Wilfling 2 3 J Wade Harper 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA.
  • 2 Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
  • 3 Mechanisms of Cellular Quality Control, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt, Germany.
  • 4 Cell Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY, USA.
  • 5 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract

Lysosomes maintain cellular homeostasis by degrading proteins delivered via endocytosis and Autophagy and recycling building blocks for organelle biogenesis. Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs) comprise a broad group of diseases affecting lysosomal degradation, ion flux, and lipid catabolism. Within this group, sphingolipidoses genes involved in glycosphingolipid breakdown are known (GBA1) or candidate (SMPD1, ASAH1) risk factors for Parkinson's Disease, though disease mechanisms remain unclear. Using our previously reported LSD mutant proteomic landscape in HeLa cells, we observed pronounced variability in endolysosomal proteome signatures among sphingolipid pathway mutants, with ASAH1 -/- cells showing altered lysosomal lipid composition, impaired endocytic trafficking, and disrupted ultrastructure by cryo-electron tomography. To extend these findings in a more physiologic context, we generated a human embryonic stem (ES) cell library comprising 23 LSD gene knockouts and profiled proteomic changes during differentiation into cortical and midbrain dopaminergic neurons over a 7 to 10 week period. LSD mutants exhibited lineage-specific alterations in organellar proteomes, revealing diverse vulnerabilities. Notably, GBA1 -/- and ASAH1 -/- dopaminergic neurons showed disruptions in synaptic and mitochondrial compartments, correlating with impaired dopaminergic neuronal firing and disrupted presynaptic protein localization. This LSD mutant toolkit and associated proteomic landscape provides a resource for defining molecular signatures of LSD gene loss and highlights convergence of lysosomal dysfunction, synaptic integrity, and mitochondrial health as potential links between sphingolipidoses and PD risk.

Keywords

LysoIP; Lysosomal Storage Disorder; Lysosome; Organelle quality control; Proteomics; iDA; iNeuron.

Figures
Products